Google describes Android 5.0’s improved security features

In Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google is getting really serious about the look and feel of the mobile experience. But it’s not just fancy animations and a flatter design; Google is also bunkering down on security in the latest release, with encryption turned on by default to ensure the safest and most secure Android yet. In a new blog post, Google details how the company is adding a slew of new security features to Android 5.0 as it tries to “stay two steps ahead of the bad guys.”

Android’s newest update is coming soon, with devices running 5.0 Lollipop beginning to ship November 3. While the visual update might be the one that most users pay the most attention to, Android 5.0 also has a number of under-the-hood changes, including some major updates to the overall security of the platform. Google has put a lot of effort into addressing the biggest threats to Android user security, which still overwhelmingly represent lost or stolen devices, and today the company is detailing a few of these efforts. Lollipop adds some new lock methods that make it easier to keep your device secure, which is a huge boon to the overall integrity of the platform. The biggest roadblock to mobile device security is actually user apathy, which sees people skipping basic security practices like implementing a lock screen pin code because it’s inconvenient when you’re checking your device every few minutes. Lollipop offers Smart Lock to help address this, which uses paired devices to let you tell your device it’s okay to open up without requiring a password or other means of authentication.